impatient

American  

[im-pey-shuhnt] / ɪmˈpeɪ ʃənt /

adjective

1. not patient; not accepting delay, opposition, pain, etc., with calm or patience.

   Synonyms:

   abrupt, brusque, curt, hot, violent, fretful, testy, irritable, unquiet, uneasy

   Antonyms:

   calm

2. indicating lack of patience.

   an impatient answer.

   Synonyms:

   abrupt, brusque, curt, hot, violent, fretful, testy, irritable

3. restless in desire or expectation; eagerly desirous.

   Synonyms:

   hasty, sudden, precipitate, impetuous

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idioms

1. impatient of, intolerant of.

   impatient of any interruptions.

impatient British  

/ ɪmˈpeɪʃənt /

adjective

1. lacking patience; easily irritated at delay, opposition, etc

2. exhibiting lack of patience

   an impatient retort

3. intolerant (of) or indignant (at)

   impatient of indecision

4. restlessly eager (for something or to do something)

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Usage

What does impatient mean? Impatient means not accepting delays or obstacles with restraint and self-control, as in Fans were so impatient for the next book in the series that they overwhelmed the author with messages on Twitter. Someone who is impatient is generally not happy with having to wait. You might be impatient for your vacation to come, thinking about your vacation all the time and becoming irritable because it’s not vacation time yet. A driver might be impatient about being stuck in traffic, blowing their horn repeatedly to show their impatience. Impatient can be used figuratively to describe events that happen quickly. For example, an impatient winter might describe a time in the autumn when the temperature drops quickly, implying that the winter season was too impatient to wait until its proper time to come. Impatient is sometimes used in the idiom impatient of, meaning intolerant of. For example, someone who is generally kind and patient may be impatient of lying. If they’re lied to, they may become irritable and argumentative with the person telling the lie. Impatient of is normally used in situations in which someone is drawing contrast to their tolerance of other things by highlighting their impatience of something. Example: I’ve had so much work lately, but my boss is still impatient about my handing in work on time.

Other Word Forms

• impatiently
  adverb
• impatientness
  noun
• unimpatient
  adjective
• unimpatiently
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of impatient

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English impacient, from Latin impatient-, stem of impatiēns “not enduring, not tolerating”; equivalent to im- ² + patient

Explanation

If you are impatient, you don’t like to wait. Do you have a hard time teaching children new skills? Do you grab the shoe and tie it yourself? You’re impatient. Pent-up, antsy, restless, short-tempered, constantly checking the time — these are qualities and behaviors of an impatient person. Patient comes from the Latin word patientem, meaning "to endure," but add the prefix im-, and you get impatient — the inability to endure delays, mix-ups, people walking slowly, red lights...

Example Sentences

Perhaps, too, have we voters become too impatient?

From BBC • May 16, 2026

I don’t pay attention to eye rolls or impatient sighs that might have once given me pause.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Kassis, presumably worried that the arms stockpiles would become unavailable to him, became impatient.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

It’s not the only thing with which Lagarde is impatient.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

The hawk screeched, and the raven clacked an impatient beak at it.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• anxious
• eager
• irritable
• keen
• restless
• testy
• thirsty